


Figure study

by DarkSilverWings



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Body Image, Character Study, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Multi, body study really, introspective kinda, normally that's art and yea i will do art but it was interesting to do a fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2020-09-24 20:02:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20364292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkSilverWings/pseuds/DarkSilverWings
Summary: to learn of our attraction to each other is to learnof why we are drawn to each otherand of why our gazes and our heartsare drawn to one another





	1. Andrew

Figure study chapter one: Andrew

Kevin noticed back when he first met Andrew. He’d been behind a glass wall and had spoken to Kevin on the phone in a monotone, monosyllable pattern. But, somehow, by the time they’d meet three times, Andrew’s eyes had started to look less blank around Kevin, and he’d been elated.

Then he meets Andrew officially, up close.

Fresh out of juvi, drugged out of his mind, smile wide- and obviously induced- stretched across his cheeks below his lifeless eyes, and Kevin had been too preoccupied being worried to notice.

In the end they both sign, to some rinky dink college collecting delinquents or something, and half the reason he signs is Andrew, the other half is their fully functional full size stadium. Andrew signs for Kevin, only for Kevin, and makes no secret of it. He’s around Kevin so often he makes it impossible not to notice.

And then Andrew kisses him for the first time.

He asks, and even after Kevin has answered ‘yes’ blearily, gives him time to back away. It’s soft and shaky and tastes like ash and vanilla ice cream, and Andrew’s movements are gentle and careful like he’s afraid Kevin will break, like he doesn’t watch Kevin train constantly. It’s different, it’s special; Kevin finds he enjoys the kind of care he isn’t used to getting. And when Andrew’s hand slides into his hair, arm pressed along Kevin’s shoulder, he notices again.

Because he’s noticed so much he shouldn’t be surprised but he is, that Andrew can pick him up easily, pin him to the wall, hold him up by the thighs, and Kevin is endlessly amazed and enthralled by both the feeling of Andrew’s strength and by seeing his arms flex, definitions of muscle cutting shadows in his skin as Kevin stares, and Andrew, likely that he’s picked up, flexes harder, the edge of a smirk gracing his lips that Kevin can’t even find the words to tell him not to be smug about.

Neil, when he meets Andrew, can’t tell much about his physique because he’s wearing all black. And because his priority had been on finding escape routes and running away. But he notices later, on the roof, when Andrew passes him a cigarette, because his forearm flexes when the cigarette touches his lips and his bicep when he leans forward on his arms. Neil doesn’t mean to stare, he’s just…observing.

It doesn’t take long for that to turn into actual unapologetic staring though, he’s unsubtle in his very direct glances at Andrew’s shoulders when he’s walking, smoking, sitting next to Neil, kissing Kevin.

And when he’s kissing Neil, the observation is just a tool to further his attraction, until Andrew’s hands are on his skin, pressed close to him, questions repeated between them whose answers are obvious but spoken nonetheless.

The real chance Kevin gets to watch Andrew is in the gym. Neil doesn’t enjoy the gym, so he runs and switches to bodyweight style training instead of weights. Kevin goes to the gym, obviously, and so does Andrew, less obvious but very valued. Neil picks them up each time, though he won’t admit it’s mostly to see them both working out.

Kevin spends most of his cardio workout watching Andrew lift steadily heavier weights, from dumbbells to barbells to the various machines, and has to distract himself not to think about how his arms look as he pulls them towards his body, the strength and press of Andrew’s broad shoulders and heavyset frame, the fabric of his shirt clinging to his body. By the time they’re done with their respective routines- Kevin’s longer than Andrew’s but Andrew insisting on waiting- the sweat over Kevin’s body isn’t entirely from exercise.

Neil gets to stare the most when Andrew drives. There isn’t any particular flexing movements during the drives themselves, though Neil still very much enjoys watching the minute movements of his eyebrows, his lip, the placement of his hands and legs. No, the real motion that catches and holds his gaze is when Andrew stretches out the stiffness after longer drives. The tightening of his muscles as he stretches brings in the perfect contrast between his muscular upper back and the softer curve of his hips, and though Andrew surely must notice, he never comments on Neil’s staring. Perhaps he stares enough that Andrew has given up asking why.

Staring is one thing, the both of them, enjoying from the distance of discretion, though neither are very discreet at all and it’s certain that Andrew is fully aware of their attention. And perhaps he’s even used to people looking at him, whether it’s to size him up or just to look. When Kevin and Neil look, it a different kind, to which Andrew isn’t just indifferent. And they are only sure of how he takes it when they spend time together, when Andrew is kissing Neil, hands light against his shirt but enough to make him squirm, his hands in Andrew’s hair shaking just slightly, his grip tightening when Andrew asks, “yes or no,” waiting for the word before yanking Neil closer to him.

Kevin takes the chance to watch, distracted but not completely when he’s pulled into their fray, till the feel of Andrew’s arms and the idea of his strength dims to a thought at the back of his mind and it stays that way until Andrew’s hands are fisted in his collar and he’s pushing Kevin against the wall, lips on his neck as their bodies press together and Kevin does not blush often but he can’t help it now.

Kevin knows Neil shares the glances because Neil smiles at him whenever they both happen to be staring at Andrew, Kevin nudges his shoulder and Neil laughs, fingers lacing with Kevin’s and their subsequent statement doesn’t need to be said aloud. They’re both completely, irrevocably, in love with Andrew. And both idiotically weak to him. The mutual understanding makes it easier, for Neil to watch as Kevin touches, squeezes, pulls at Andrew’s shoulders; for Kevin to listen to the soft sounds Andrew makes when Neil’s fingers dig into his arms.

Andrew notices, because of course he does, so Andrew makes more of a habit of picking Kevin up to get him places, and on occasion Neil too; Kevin goes uncharacteristically silent or swears in surprise, and Neil just gets this elated grin on his face that makes Andrew roll his eyes. And maybe he buys a shirt one size tighter.


	2. Kevin

Figure study chapter two: Kevin  
  
Nobody in the history of exy, college or the universe, has ever tried to deny that Kevin Day is attractive. He’s frustratingly attractive in every possible fashion, he’s attractive in every advertisement, interview, game and accidental candid that anyone has ever seen him in. He’s attractive in his exy armour, in his casual clothes, in whatever anyone tries to put him in, and in nothing.

The most frustrating part of it all is that Andrew cannot stop looking. He gets the urge to push Kevin’s hair back, randomly and then he has to physically remove himself from the area to resist sliding his hand along Kevin’s soft cheeks and prominent collarbone, to see the echo of questioning embarrassment in his bright green eyes and his annoyingly pretty eyelashes that would brush against Andrew’s fingers.

Andrew pretends not to look, pretends to be preoccupied by the fire of his lighter and the smoke from his cigarette when he watches Kevin play alone every night. He’s not very subtle though, the stadium is empty save for him and Kevin, he has nothing to do but stare and pretend like he isn’t looking at the curve of his waist or the way his shoulders flex when he takes a shot.

And then he doesn’t have to pretend and doesn’t have to hold back sliding his hands down Kevin’s back and waist and hips and lower.

Andrew’s never been able to hide how his attraction shows in gestures.

Once it starts, Andrew can’t stop wanting to kiss Kevin. One time he catches him out of the shower, towel dangerously low on the gentle dip of his hips below his tantalising v-line, and he’s literally across the room in half a second. He smells like green apple conditioner and some sort of perfume, like he always does, and Andrew’s restraint strains as his heart flips in his chest when Kevin glances up at him over his phone and then throws the stupid thing on a pile of clothes and says ‘yes’ to Andrew as much as he needs to hear it. And Andrew is further infuriated by the press of soft skin turning to hard muscle of Kevin’s arms, his chest, the callous of his wrist and palm, and how easily he melts when Andrew’s hand winds through his hair.

He shouldn’t be this stricken but he is, when Kevin’s legs wrap around his waist and squeeze, when his smile is softer for Andrew and he tilts his cheek into Andrew’s palm.

It makes his chest hurt and makes it impossible to hide the emotion in his eyes until he’s taken his drugs again.

Eden’s twilight is where Andrew notices that Neil is into Kevin too. It’s on a dingy night after a stressful week, there’s fog outside and Nicky has managed to get eyeliner and some faintly glittery eyeshadow onto Kevin, and Andrew will never admit to swooning but he definitely did, more than once, and his eyes catch Neil’s over him doing the same, tripping over a table.

It only intensifies after time has passed, when they can easily get their hands on Kevin but still watch him, watch the mesh sleeves of the shirt Neil had bought for him fit against his arms when he leans on the table, the dip of his back and curve and edge of muscle when he tips a shot back and now that he actually looks at Andrew and Neil in the club neither of them have any chance of a thought process.

They buy him the eye shadow, of course, and though he doesn’t use it Andrew bends his pride and asks Nicky to do it.

The dark Kohl liner does a lot for his eyelashes too, and Andrew can see Neil’s eyes widen when Kevin’s face is near his and fuck, his lips look so soft, Andrew can barely bring himself to blink. He can swear his lungs have forgotten how to breathe when Kevin is that close to him, the faint smell of club smoke and alcohol clinging to him and his eyes still so unbearably beautiful they make his mouth go dry. He hasn’t figured out if they’re cerulean or forest when Kevin asks to kiss him, and then he forgets to wonder.

Neil had always known the attractiveness of Kevin’s figure. It’d been like a fact of nature, the trees are green, strawberries are red, Kevin Day is hot as fuck. And pretty as fuck. He’d always give Neil this wide eyed, soft smile, back when he was Nathaneil and they were younger, he’d hold Neil’s hand when he tripped, and he still does that now. If Neil takes an extra few seconds to get up when Kevin is pulling him up, nobody points it out.

However, being in close contact is very _very_ different from just _knowing_ that Kevin is attractive. Now it’s in his face, now he can’t help but notice it more, that Kevin has soft lips and pretty fingers and well-defined thighs.

He has runner’s legs, long and lean and muscled, and his arms and hands are defined like a sculpture. That’s it: Kevin Day is like a statue sculpture. And yet, he’s soft, Neil notices when Kevin’s hair is mussed from running his hand through it, when his reading glasses have slid down his nose and his fingers still twirl the pencil in his hand as something like a nervous tick. His features soften and relax and his shoulders drop a fraction of an inch as he smiles at Neil, taking his hand, and Neil falls in love even more, if that’s remotely possible at this point.

Then Andrew opens the door, Kevin turns that smile to him, and Neil knows he’s not alone by just the widening of Andrew’s eyes. He almost wants to chuckle, and then he actually does, Andrew tells him to shut up and Kevin’s brows furrow in confusion until Andrew’s arms slide around Kevin’s shoulders after a brief question and Neil squeezes his hand.

Kevin, for the most part, is used to stares. He’s used to every type of glance there is, and used to shelving his reactions as someone who’s in the media a lot. What he isn’t used to is the way Neil and Andrew give him those particular looks of theirs that isn’t like any fan might be but also far more intense. Perhaps it’s instinct, perhaps he just knows them, but he arches his back further and he does his stretches for longer, and he keeps his grin to himself. Or rather, if they’d noticed, they’ve been distracted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aka i forgot to crosspost these from my tumblr-   
hence me posting this and the next chapter at once  
thank you so much for reading!! comments and kudos give me joy <3


	3. Neil

Figure study chapter three: Neil

Neil, as they learn, had never been told he was attractive until he came upon the foxes. Though his mother was loving, she did not have the luxury to be doting, and so Neil knew neither shame nor arrogance, only fear of his natural appearance.

Andrew had really started looking at Neil the second time he’d seen him while off his meds. Solely because the first time he was driving. Neil looked nervous, that nervousness schooled into a blank expression that leveled out his features, endearing in their uneven set. His jaw was slightly askew, his nose possibly broken once, but what really caught Andrew were his eyes, strong and fierce and bold, fearful but unapologetic.

Andrew’s usually discreet about observing people, Kevin’s own obliviousness a testament to the fact, and so it doesn’t take long for him to note Neil’s body structure. His lithe legs, quick reactions, deceptively strong arms. Though he’d buckled when Andrew had hit him first, Neil hadn’t been easy to knock down since. His stance and weight is always distributed to best avoid falling, to take whatever’s thrown at him. It’s steady, comforting, makes Andrew want to lean on him to test if he can take the weight, though he has no doubt Neil can.

And there’s no shortage of occasions to observe him, because Neil is free with his movement, he sits with the weight balance on his calves accentuating his thighs, scars on his heavyset wrists in full view, and sometimes Andrew is envious of how indifferent Neil is to hiding his scars once the foxes know who he is. Even before, Neil was never like Andrew, he’d never wear the thick full coverage clothes and armbands and there was little to do about hiding scars on his fingers. They’re calloused from strain, thick and rough and strong, he can tell when Neil hits Kevin’s shoulder playfully, having to conceal the smile that threatens to show when Kevin’s lips quick up, just a little, in return.

Kevin isn’t attracted to Neil at first. He’s strung up and on edge already, all he’d noticed about Neil had been that he had fire, that he was willing to give Kevin everything, and then he does, freely, he promises his everything to Kevin and then the attraction hits him fast. It takes him time to shift his focus from Neil’s game to his face, from the swinging racket to his reeling intensity, and still he only admits it to himself when Neil’s hands are on Kevin’s shoulders and he tells him, bluntly, he’d like to kiss him. 

He’s tiptoeing, determination in his eyes and Kevin finds that so _incredibly_ endearing he has to admit something to himself. 

Then Kevin notices, Neil’s strong cheekbones and the sharp cut of his shoulders, his comforting weight and strong thighs, the criss-cross patterns of scars along his arms, dotted and speckled like a high-stakes work of art, memories imbibed in the raises and dips in the texture of his skin.

It’s easy enough to tell that Andrew is attracted to Neil too, because Kevin and Andrew understand unspoken things like that, so Andrew knows that Kevin is too. Kevin likes to watch Neil’s thighs straddle Andrew’s, and Andrew likes to see Neil’s fingers clutch at Kevin’s hips or his nape, drag along his arms and down to his waist as Kevin’s hands cup Neil’s jaw, thumb brushing over the raised slash scars and across the slight dips of nicks on his jaw. 

Kevin is the one that gets to watch Neil the closest, in matches when they’re running across the court together, not even the gear can hide Neil’s strong legs and heavyset hips, a balance point in his figure, light enough to turn and bolt the other direction faster even than Kevin can react. Neil is the first person he passes to in full faith. 

Andrew can’t see much from the goal, and he doesn’t exactly run beyond the goal boundary but he does perk up when the strikers run back within the half-line, never waving at them but Kevin knows exactly when Andrew’s eyes are on Neil. That’s definitely the case on days Kevin carries Neil on his back from the court to Andrew’s car, hands under his thighs and squeezing whenever he feels Neil smile or catches Andrew’s stare. 

The contrast in Neil’s appearance from his initial dark hair and dark eyes to his natural ginger-and-blue is not so drastic as it is just another thing about him. Neil was attractive before, and he is attractive now, and he is attractive with whatever contact lens or hair colour he chooses to have, the only difference being that now he cares more. And so Andrew and Kevin notice, the healthier look to his face, the soft waves in his hair and the bags under his eyes slowly fading.

They know Neil’s face by memory, know the blotched scar where he’d been tattooed at Evermore, know the knife scars on his cheek that edge over his cheekbone, know the crescent-moon shaped scar under his jaw that could have been fatal just a little bit to the left. This face belongs to Neil, Palmetto’s Neil, their Neil. Josten, their boyfriend, not any other ID or pocket watch name he could possibly have.

This Neil, the one with curiousity in his eyes and a lilt in his chuckle, the one who kisses Kevin’s neck to wake him up and waits for Andrew to thread their fingers together, this is the Neil they like to watch. Watch his shorts pull around a particularly large scar on his thigh, watch his waist be exposed when he wears Andrew’s shirts, watch his lips part when Andrew bites his chest and watch his forearms flex as he reaches for Kevin to pull him closer.

Kevin and Andrew don’t have to compare notes to know what they feel about Neil, to know that Kevin appreciates it when Andrew’s fingers press into Neil’s thighs, to know that it drives Andrew crazy when Kevin bites at Neil’s neck and draws that sound out of him. They watch him, wait, touch him, and know each other so well the details become unconscious knowledge, mapped in their memories and burned into their ghosting hands.

And when Neil leans his cheek into Kevin’s hand or tilts his head into Andrew’s fingers in his hair, there’s endearment there so strong they know he loves them, and they know they love him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaand that's it! tbh i had fun writing in a descriptive style for these, generally exploring what i would consider the 'charm points' of these characters the way the other two would see it  
i hope you enjoyed reading it! comments and kudos make me extremely happy always <3

**Author's Note:**

> wasn't sure if to post this as series or multi chap so for now its this but if you think i should change it to series lmk!!!  
thank you so much for reading!!!  
comments and kudos absolutely make my day always <3


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